Can foreigners visit the Mao Mausoleum in 2026?
Visiting is free, and every visitor needs a real-name reservation for a time slot. The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (毛主席纪念堂), usually called the Mao Mausoleum, stands on Tiananmen Square (天安门广场). A notice on People's Daily Online says it reopens to the public from 1 September 2026, Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00-12:00.
The open question for a foreign visitor is the account. The Hall's booking notice asks for a mobile number from the self-operated services of China Mobile, China Telecom or China Unicom. It names resident identity cards and household registration books as ID. It does not mention passports. The Hall's pages do not say whether a foreigner with a Chinese SIM card can register with a passport, and they do not say a foreigner cannot.
So call the Hall before you plan around this visit: 010-55605013 for individual reservations, 08:00-11:30 on opening days. We can help you plan the rest of the day around the Hall and tell you how to book.
Mao Mausoleum opening hours and closed days
The Hall is open Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00-12:00, which leaves Monday as the closed day. Hours on national statutory holidays and relevant anniversaries are notified separately; the Hall's booking-site announcement gives no specific holiday hours. Look at the booking calendar before you fix a date in a holiday week.
On the reopening: the notice board on People's Daily Online says the Hall reopens to the public from 1 September 2026. That notice page shows no publication date. The announcement on the Hall's own booking site does not mention the reopening. The reopening notice on People's Daily Online does not say when or why the Hall closed.
How to book Chairman Mao Memorial Hall tickets as a foreigner with a passport
You do not buy a ticket. You make a free reservation for a time slot. The Hall lists three channels: its WeChat official account, its WeChat mini-program, and its special page on People's Daily Online. Its booking website has an English interface, and the login page names the website as an authorised channel too.
- Open the booking website. The top bar has three entrances: Individual booking, Tour guide booking and Travel agent booking. Individual visitors use the first one. The individual booking page does not explain who may use the Tour guide booking and Travel agent booking entrances.
- Log in. The login page offers WeChat QR-code login and SMS login. It does not say which phone numbers the SMS login accepts.
- Register the account with your real name and a mobile number from China Mobile, China Telecom or China Unicom self-operated services. Accounts registered with numbers of virtual network operators are cleared, and their reservations are cancelled at the same time.
- Choose a date and a slot. The site shows four steps: choose a date, fill in the reservation information, confirm it, and the appointment is successful.
- Book 1-6 days ahead. New tickets are released at 12:30 every day. Same-day reservations are not accepted for the time being, and what counts is the slots actually displayed as available.
- Add up to 5 people to one reservation. An account can hold only one pending reservation per day.
- On the day, enter within your reserved slot, show a valid identity document and accept the check of your reservation.
If you hold a foreign passport
The booking notice says to bring "valid certificates such as resident identity cards and household registration books". The announcement and the 2023 visiting notice say only "valid identity document" and name no type. A number from abroad does not meet the operator rule as written. The Hall's booking notice does not say whether a Chinese SIM card plus a passport works. The Hall's lines are 010-55605013 for individuals and 010-55605020 for teams, 08:00-11:30 on opening days, and 010-86409990 at other times. The Hall's booking-site announcement and 2023 visiting notice do not say whether the staff speak English.
Is the Mao Mausoleum free? Watch out for sites selling tickets
Yes. The booking page says reservations are free of charge. It also says no third-party website or app, other than the Hall's WeChat official account, its WeChat mini-program and its page on People's Daily Online, is authorised to offer free or paid reservations. The login page repeats this and adds the booking website to the list. Treat any other site or app that sells Hall "tickets" as not official.
Cancelling, changing and no-show rules
- Cancel: at most 2 times a day. After 2 cancellations you cannot book again that day. The limits are 4 a week, 6 a month and 12 a year.
- Change: each pending reservation can be changed once.
- Deadline: cancel or change at least 10 minutes before the slot starts.
- No-show: booking and then not passing verification and entering counts as a no-show. The first one puts the account in warning status, and you can still book normally. A second no-show within 120 days locks the account. Normal status returns 120 days after the date of the warning or the lock.
Since 1 January 2025, after the on-site check and your visit, you can view and download an electronic souvenir ticket under "My Reservation" within 30 days. It is a keepsake, not an entry ticket.
What the booking calendar showed on 4 October 2026
On 4 October 2026, the booking calendar showed 5 and 6 October as Full (约满), 7 to 10 October as Available and 11 October as Not available. Five slots were listed for 5 October: 08:00-08:45, 08:45-09:30, 09:30-10:15, 10:15-11:00 and 11:00-12:00. All five were Full.
This is one snapshot, not a rule. It shows that dates can fill up days ahead. It also listed Monday 5 October as Full rather than closed. The Hall's announcement says hours on national statutory holidays are notified separately, so in a holiday week go by the calendar; in an ordinary week, plan on Monday being closed. Book only what the calendar displays as available.
What you can't bring into the Mao Mausoleum, and where to leave your bag
The booking notice says bags, cameras, video cameras, water cups, drinks and all liquids are strictly prohibited inside. A list dated 21 July 2026 advises bringing only your phone and ID. Non-electric wheelchairs and strollers that are needed, and umbrellas, may be brought as needed.
Bag storage. With your reservation information you can store items free for a limited time at the luggage storage office (存包处) on the east side of the square. The Hall's booking notice gives no exact spot, storage opening hours or specific time limit.
The restricted list covers items you must store or throw away before you enter:
- Bags of every kind, water bottles and cups, and all liquids (water, drinks, milk, liquid medicine, toner).
- Cameras and video gear, including smart recording glasses, selfie sticks and tripods.
- Lighters, matches, hairspray, sunscreen spray and alcohol.
- Knives and scissors, and blunt or sharp tools.
- Scooters, balance bikes and skates.
- Tablets, speakers and power banks over 20,000 mAh.
- Paint, ink and markers; banners, flags and printed matter.
The prohibited list is stricter. Staff hand those items and their carrier to the authorities. It names firearms, ammunition and imitations; explosives and fireworks; controlled knives and controlled devices such as batons and handcuffs; flammable and explosive items; and toxic, corrosive or radioactive items, disease agents and anything of unknown nature.
What happens inside, and how long the visit takes
The visiting notice of November 2023 asks you to accept the security check, switch your phone off or to silent, and dress neatly and decently. It bans smoking, spitting, littering and climbing barriers. Keep quiet, do not talk loudly or joke around, and do not stop in the viewing hall. Help older, young, pregnant and disabled visitors. The Hall's 2023 visiting notice gives no specific rule on shorts, hats or taking photographs inside.
The Hall's 2020 overview describes the layout. The north hall is the visitor entrance, the viewing hall is the core, and the south hall is the exit hall. The same overview lists memorial rooms on the second floor, an education hall and a collection room. It predates the 2026 reopening, and the reopening notice on People's Daily Online does not say these areas are open to visitors now.
Visitors over 70, military personnel, disabled and pregnant visitors can enter through the green channel with priority, based on the same-day reservation information. Everyone, including the elderly and children, still needs a reservation.
The Hall's booking notice and 2023 visiting notice do not identify the entrance, gate or road to use from the square, give a visiting route, or say how long the queue or visit takes.
Do you also need a Tiananmen Square reservation?
Probably not, but the evidence is older than the latest notice. The Tiananmen Area Management Committee's 2021 measures say visitors who have booked the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Palace Museum (see our Forbidden City booking guide), the National Museum of China and some other nearby sites can enter the square by showing a valid reservation record. A 2025 English answer from the Committee says the same for a successful Hall booking, for the morning and afternoon hours on the day of your visit. A square booking does not replace a Hall booking.
The Committee's notice of 24 September 2026 says the square is free and needs a real-name booking 1-7 days ahead. It does not mention the shortcut. Our advice: book the Hall, and if you cannot get a slot, or you want the safe route, book the square itself. See how to make a Tiananmen Square reservation as a foreigner.
The 2025 answer says the square's web portal does not support non-Chinese phone numbers. It points foreigners to the WeChat mini-program 天安门广场预约参观 (Personal Reservation), up to 7 people per order, including up to 4 adults and 3 children aged no more than 6 or under 1.2 metres, with each person's name and passport number. It adds that the National Museum of China international site accepts bookings by email and passport number, up to 5 people per order. That is the one route in the Committee's answer built for foreign visitors that also opens the square. It says nothing about getting into the Hall that way. The square's line is +86-10-86409123 (Chinese only, press 6 for staff, 08:00-17:30 daily); do not mix it up with the Hall's numbers.
Expect last-minute closures
If the Hall closes temporarily because of square management and control or other reasons, your reservation is cancelled automatically. After any big event on the square, look at your booking again before you travel to the Hall. For the wider city, see the Beijing travel guide.
